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The ritual would require the blood of true legends who failed miserably, a Maho-tsukai of incredible power and the Ki-rin. [1] The sacrifce wvoked the Rain of Blood, the single most powerful magical event ever to take place in Rokugan. [2]

Iuchiban enacted the ritual sacrificing the last Ki-Rin. He and his followers used all of the unicorn's life force to unleash a terrible storm across all of Rokugan. The clouds churned and spilled forth a rain of blood [1] that corrupted the weak; those who were consumed by fear, desire, or regret were unable to resist the call and fell to the power of corruption, becoming willing allies of the Bloodspeakers. [10]

The Lion Clan and Mantis Clan were hit particularly hard by this disaster, as the Lion armies were marching to the City of the Rich Frog and the Mantis were unprotected on the seas. [citation needed] The Crane lands were hit particularly hard. [11] The Phoenix knew in advance of the Rain and coordinated a serie of rituals that protected their lands. Only the City of Remembrance was affected after a taintedYoritomo Kitao and his corrupted crew killed the Phoenix defenders. [12] The Crab burned the bodies of those who died upon the Kaiu Wall at the hands of their brothers. [13] Even the Imperial City, Toshi Ranbo, was affected. [14] The nezumi would not become tainted, and they did not notice the Rain. [15] The Rain of Blood took a terrible toll on the Dragon. The strongest Dragon samurai did not fall to the Rain and the mystic order of ise zumi appeared to be entirely immune. [16] As a result, the Emperor commanded the Dragon armies to restore order to the Empire, granting them permission to move throughout the Empire. [17]